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The Taurid meteor shower is not finished yet, one of its two streams will peak this weekend. When the Northern Taurids, a small annual shower, are at their most active, skywatchers may spot a bright meteor or two streaking across the night sky.

The Southern Taurids peak on November 5, and this dynamic duo can be seen overlapping in the night sky since mid-October. The Northern Taurids are expected to peak around 7:21 p.m. ET on Sunday, according to EarthSky.

Coming from a parent comet called Encke, the two Taurid showers usually produce a low speed of five meteors per hour. But because cometary debris tends to be large, up to 1 meter (3 feet) in diameter, Taurid meteors appear brighter as they penetrate the atmosphere, Bill Cooke, head of NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, told CNN.

Some of the large, powerful meteors commonly thought to originate from the Taurids are brighter than the planet Venus, the second-brightest celestial body in the night sky after the moon, and are categorized as fireballs, according to NASA.

“If I go out to see the Taurids, I will prepare for a long observation session most of the night,” Cooke said. “I’ll be as comfortable as possible – maybe bring a sleeping bag or cot, and dress appropriately – and I’ll be ready to spend hours outside.”

Peak North Taurid activity will take place several nights before and after Sunday, according to the American Meteor Society. Local weather conditions permitting, the best time to see meteors is after midnight in any time zone. The meteor shower appears to originate from the constellation Taurus, and will reach its highest point in the sky in the early hours of the morning, Cooke said.

The moon will be in the new moon phase, with only 2% illumination, according to the American Meteor Society, and will provide ideal observing conditions because its brightness will not interfere with the meteor’s visibility.

Debris from the comet family

Although Taurid activity levels are low this year, the American Meteor Society notes that astronomers have observed increases in Southern Taurid activity every three to seven years that could result in activity levels doubling. Scientists estimate the next chance to see the explosion – known as a “Taurid swarm” – will be in 2025, Cooke said.

The Northern Taurids are believed to be debris from several asteroids that were once part of Comet Encke but broke up along with other space rocks tens of thousands of years ago, according to Cooke.

As the celestial bodies, known as the Encke Complex, make their orbital journey around the sun, they leave behind a trail of debris that appears as a Taurid meteor shower when Earth’s orbit intersects with their path.

Occasionally, larger-than-usual meteoroids, such as the Taurids, can penetrate Earth’s atmosphere and survive intact. Meteoroids that fall to Earth are called meteorites.

“Most meteoroids burn up high above your head and don’t reach the ground. “Larger ones – ones that are a meter across, about the size of a large rock – can break apart and scatter meteorites across the ground,” Cooke said, adding that they are small and unlikely to cause any damage. About 48.5 tons (44,000 kilograms) of space debris falls to Earth every day, according to NASA estimates.

“When the meteorite hits the ground, it will be cold,” Cooke said. “They didn’t light a fire – it would be cold; you can take it.”

The meteor shower has not yet reached its peak this year

Meteors from the Northern Taurids are expected to be seen blazing across the sky until the last shower on December 2, according to the American Meteor Society. If you want to see more, here are the rest of the meteor showers that peak in 2023:

● Leonid: 17-18 November

● Geminid: December 13-14

● Ursids: 21-22 December

Full moon

There are two full moons left in 2023, according to the Farmer’s Almanac:

● November 27: Beaver month

● December 26: Cold month

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2023-11-13 11:42:24
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